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During 1792 - 1815, the period of the Coalition Wars and the Napoleonic Wars between France and Europe, prisoners were taken on both sides. The majority of them were confined, sometimes for many years, in England and Scotland. During the first years, hulks were used to imprison the miserables. Lateron, “Depots” were built from timber to confine nearly 8000 prisoners, e.g. from 1797 onwards in the Depot at Norman Cross, near Peterborough. The granite prison at Dartmoor, commenced in 1805, received its first batch of prisoners in May 1809*). The prisoners were building ship models from scraps of wood, or mutton and beef bones. They developed an art form and the models were sold to the public, arranged by the guards. This trade supplied the prisoners with ivory and special tools so that the models would be all the more decorative. Rigging was made of human hair, horsehair, silk, or whatever other fine material could be obtained. For the most part, the models had carved wooden hulls covered with thin veneers of bone or ivory, and other parts of the model such as masts and spars were also carved from bone and ivory. To this day they remain highly sought after, valuable collectibles.

*) Walker, T. J. 1913. The Depot for Prisoners of War at Norman Cross Huntingdonshire.1796 to 1816. LONDON, CONSTABLE & COMPANY LTD, 1913

Abell, Francis 1914. Prisoners of War in Britain, 1756 to 1815. A record of their lives, their romance and their sufferings. Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, 464 pages, with illustrations .London Edinburgh Glasgow New York Toronto Melbourne Bombay 1914